PwC Salary raises Forum

[Anonymous User]

I heard that pwc gave massive raises to M&A tax associates, effecting Jan 1 and Jan 15. Jump from 100K starting (Class of 2020) to $180K now. Is this true?

[Anonymous User]

I have no inside knowledge regarding this specific issue. Posters on another site claim pay raises of 20% to 40%. This makes sense as starting pay was at $140,000 to $145,000 for certain positions as a senior associate.

I really doubt that field office senior associates would start anywhere near the $160,000 to $180,000 range. Depending on the particular office, starting pay was as low as $75,000 (Philadelphia) and as high as $125,000 (NYC) base salary.

Publicly, this Big 4 announced across the board pay raises of 5%. Another web site claims that certain groups--including M&A Tax--received an additional 11% pay hike (on top of the 5%).

During the last year, this Big 4 suffered a high number of exits at its key offices. Pay was not the focal point; abusive culture at low pay better explains the reason for the loss of senior associates & managers.

What is your source for the 80% raise figure ?

I would share more detailed info. privately, but you posted as an anon so I am unable to communicate privately. (Why did you post as an anon for such a broad, basic question?)

[Anonymous User]

Totally anecdotal here but I'm friends with a well-placed PwC partner and he's shared with me that they're suffering the same if not worse attrition issues that biglaw has through the last two years (and especially last year) of COVID, particularly concentrated in younger people (under 30) who just don't have the appetite to put up with the bullshit anymore. They don't want to reform the actual work culture so it wouldn't surprise me if their response was to just throw money at the problem and pray it goes away, like we've seen with biglaw over the past couple years.

[Anonymous User]

Recently, PwC announced that all would be able to work remotely at least for the next year, but cautioned that some would receive pay cuts if located in or moving to a low cost location.

[violetwindsor]

OP here: Didn’t mean to post anonymously. My source was a former classmate. It was their claim that they effectively received a 64% raise. They did get early promoted from associate to senior associate. Was trying to gather information for fellow friends wanting to do tax in Big 4 if this person’s information is true or if they are misreading/over-hyping their raise.

[violetwindsor]

OP again: They received an early raise from 100K to ~115K early 2021, so the raise to the new salary is now just 64%. But effectively in a little over a year, their total raise is practically 80%, which is wild, and seemed too good to be true. Friends of mine want to do Big 4 tax and we’re optimistic on these claims but it seemed off.

[Anonymous User]

OP here: Didn’t mean to post anonymously. My source was a former classmate. It was their claim that they effectively received a 64% raise. They did get early promoted from associate to senior associate. Was trying to gather information for fellow friends wanting to do tax in Big 4 if this person’s information is true or if they are misreading/over-hyping their raise.

180 as an M&A senior in NYC sounds reasonable, maybe a little high.

[CanadianWolf]

To above posters & to OP:

Are these friends & classmates holding just JD degrees or have they also earned tax LLM degrees ?

If holders of only a JD law degree, are they from top 14 law schools and/or also hold a CPA license ?

[violetwindsor]

That’s good to know. Allegedly even those that are non-attorneys in the M&A Tax team are also at the same pay scale. So a class of 2020 undergraduate is getting paid the $180K at pwc.

[violetwindsor]

To above posters & to OP:

Are these friends & classmates holding just JD degrees or have they also earned tax LLM degrees ?

If holders of only a JD law degree, are they from top 14 law schools and/or also hold a CPA license ?

They are tax LLM holders with law degrees outside the US. Based on other Big 4, $180K was just on the very high end. And after speaking to the classmate from pwc, they mentioned their promotion bonus was 40%. That appears very high for a promotion raise on top of the firm wide, plus M&A specific raise.

[CanadianWolf]

Typically, when one is promoted from Senior Associate to Manager, the individual receives a one-time lump sum bonus in addition to a raise in base salary. Maybe your friend is adding his or her one-time bonus to the increase in base salary to arrive at the 40% figure.

I find it very hard to believe that an Associate who received an early promotion to Senior Associate in M&A Tax is earning anywhere near $180,000 including a one-time lump sum bonus. However, anything is possible & many have left PwC M&A Tax over the past year.

Usually,those with foreign law degrees do not earn tax LLMs; they tend to earn LLMs in Comparative Law in order to qualify to sit for state bars in a handful of states.

OP: None of this makes sense to me as LLM in Taxation degree holders are hired as Senior Associates, not as Associates. But,once again,anything is possible.

Accounting firms are cheap--very cheap---very, very cheap. But,anything is possible.

[violetwindsor]

That makes sense. As for the LLMs, yes, you’re right. They’re not specifically tax LLMs, but are taking some tax courses or something. Unsure really if that’s enough for them to work in Big 4.

[violetwindsor]

Typically, when one is promoted from Senior Associate to Manager, the individual receives a one-time lump sum bonus in addition to a raise in base salary. Maybe your friend is adding his or her one-time bonus to the increase in base salary to arrive at the 40% figure.

I find it very hard to believe that an Associate who received an early promotion to Senior Associate in M&A Tax is earning anywhere near $180,000 including a one-time lump sum bonus. However, anything is possible & many have left PwC M&A Tax over the past year.

Usually,those with foreign law degrees do not earn tax LLMs; they tend to earn LLMs in Comparative Law in order to qualify to sit for state bars in a handful of states.

OP: None of this makes sense to me as LLM in Taxation degree holders are hired as Senior Associate, not as Associates. But,once again,anything is possible.

Accounting firms are cheap--very cheap---very, very cheap. But,anything is possible.

Sorry. To clarify. The classmate who allegedly had this massive raise was a regular US JD student, who graduated with me in 2020. My friends that was interested in doing Big 4 after hearing about their unheard-of salary of $180K are current LLM students looking for a job. I could not verify if the classmate is just mistakenly sharing that their base is now $180K. Many have said it was likely false and that they received a promotional bonus, not a base of $180K. Figured I’d do some sleuthing. Again, like you said, anything could happen.
But this same classmate also noted that even the undergraduate who was hired as an associate in M&A tax (did not realise they also hired non-lawyers) is also being paid $180K because that undergrad was promoted with the classmate. Seems to be a very high salary for Big 4 Senior Associate, especially for the undergrad. But anything can be possible or there is something the classmate is not telling us.

[CanadianWolf]

Broadly speaking, Big 4 and major regional accounting firms have a tough time hiring other than inexperienced tax attorneys. It takes 3 to 4 years to become trained in M&A Tax.

If your friend was hired as an Associate rather than as a Senior Associate, he did not have an LLM in Taxation.

Another issue concerns work Visas & employer sponsorship. Some accounting firms specifically state that they will not hire those in need of sponsorship. If your classmate needs sponsorship, then he is less of a risk flight to another accounting or law firm.

Also, Big 4 accounting firms give a one-time $5,000 bonus to those who pass a state bar or finish CPA exams during their first year of employment. Maybe this is why your friend received a quick promotion from Associate to Senior Associate. The promotion bonus & the bar passage bonus was probably a total of $15,000. Raise from an Associate to a Senior associate could be $20,000 in base pay. Additionally,M&A Tax is rumored to have received 15% across the board raises. All of this is just my best guess. But, it is an educated guess.

P.S. The above was posted before I read your most recent post. The $180,000 figure does not seem likely for one with just one or two years of M&A Tax experience even assuming that that individual holds an LLM in Taxation degree.

[violetwindsor]

Broadly speaking, Big 4 and major regional accounting firms have a tough time hiring other than inexperienced tax attorneys. It takes 3 to 4 years to become trained in M&A Tax.

If your friend was hired as an Associate rather than as a Senior Associate, he did not have an LLM in Taxation.

Another issue concerns work Visas & employer sponsorship. Some accounting firms specifically state that they will not hire those in need of sponsorship. If your classmate needs sponsorship, then he is less of a risk flight to another accounting or law firm.

Also, Big 4 accounting firms give a one-time $5,000 bonus to those who pass a state bar or finish CPA exams during their first year of employment. Maybe this is why your friend received a quick promotion from Associate to Senior Associate. The promotion bonus & the bar passage bonus was probably a total of $15,000. Raise from an Associate to a Senior associate could be $20,000. Additionally,M&A Tax is rumored to have received 15% across the board raises. All of this is just my best guess. But, it is an educated guess.

Got it. So my LLM friends now may have a shot at getting Big 4. Likely not at the alleged salary the classmate is sharing, which is $180K, at only having 1 year and 3 months experience. Again, that classmate that is saying they got a 40% promotional raise was a JD graduate in 2020 and didn’t need sponsorship. They didn’t have an LLM. But they said that they have coworkers in M&A tax who just graduated undergrad in the US, not even a JD or JD equivalent degree. And even that person got the 40% promotional raise according to this classmate.

But what I’m going to share to my LLM friends looking for jobs is that it’s unlikely they will see similar salaries as this person.

[CanadianWolf]

Undergraduates with accounting degrees are usually not hired directly into M&A Tax. But, anything is possible.

States now require 5 years of college/university hours in order to meet the educational qualification for CPA licensing in addition to passage of the 4 parts of the CPA exam & 3 years of work experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA. For the 5th year of education, most accounting majors earn a Masters Degree in either Accounting or in Taxation.

The $180,000 figure just does not seem likely for one with less than 4 or 5 years of work experience in a major accounting firm and holding a CPA license or a JD/LLM with state bar membership. But, once again,anything is possible.

Just because your friend's situation does not match my knowledge & experience,does not mean that it is not true. Things change, so anything is possible, but my information is very recent--as in 2 months ago. But, things can change over a month or two.

[violetwindsor]

Undergraduates with accounting degrees are usually not hired directly into M&A Tax. But, anything is possible.

States now require 5 years of college/university hours in order to meet the educational qualification for CPA licensing (in addition to passage of the 4 parts of the CPA exam & 3 years of work experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA. For the 5th year of education, most accounting majors earn a Masters Degree in either Accounting or in Taxation.

The $180,000 figure just does not seem likely for one with less than 5 years of work experience in a major accounting firm and holding a CPA license or a JD/LLM with state bar membership. But, once again,anything is possible.

This was my thought exactly when I heard from this classmate. Didn’t know whether to believe them. But it just was not probable, even in NYC or other high cost of living areas.

Thank you for helping me whittle this down. Made me wonder if I should move to pwc since they seem to be paying way above market for people under 2 year experience. And even those who are undergraduates. That seemed media worthy salary jumps.

[CanadianWolf]

The highest starting salaries for new inexperienced hires in M&A Tax would be in PwC's Washington National Tax Services (WNTS) office. As of a couple months ago, starting pay was $140,000 for JD/LLMs without bar membership, and $145,000 for those with bar membership. Hires were told to expect 6% pay raises & 6% annual bonuses. But, this very well could have changed in the last month or two because so many left recently including two who had received recent promotions.

Other offices paid up to $125,000 (NYC is all that I know at this salary) for inexperienced JD/LLMs. Other posters on this website have written that friend told them of compensation at or near $200,000 within 3 to 4 years. But, folks can write anything they want on an anonymous internet forum.

The difficulty of working for an accounting firm as an attorney is that one becomes too specialized for most law firms. Even so,many do move into biglaw after about 5 years--but probably with a 2 year setback in standing.

Major law firms that will consider attorneys with an accounting firm background for their tax section usually specify this in their recruiting ad. Other major law firms will not accept lateral applicants for tax group without prior major law firm experience.

Again, I repeat that anything is possible as M&A Tax is a hot market now for those with experience just as M&A transactional legal work is a hot market for attorneys with major law firm experience in M&A transactional work.

[violetwindsor]

Thank you so much. That was probably the most helpful guidance I can pass my friends. And honestly, I can’t imagine in a month, pwc decided they were handing out 40% raises. That just seems too good to be true and at the end of the day, I have no way of verifying that classmate’s claims for sure.

But to help keep expectations normal, your ballpark range is likely what it really is.

[CanadianWolf]

Also, as I noted above, PwC recently announced that WNTS hires could work remotely, but cautioned that those living & working in a lower cost area than Wash DC would receive a decrease in pay due to a lower cost-of-living standard.

When considering employment with a Big 4,much of the experience depends upon one's superiors. And some "superiors" can be less than pleasant.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I don’t want this tracked back to me (friend told me in confidence):

Earlier this summer, my friend was promoted to manager and received a salary of $185k. 2017 grad from a Tax LLM. His MST coworker makes around the same (2017 graduate from an MST). MST got 1s and Tax LLM got 1/2 ratings throughout. So these people would be near the top of pay.

Therefore, I find it highly unlikely that a 2020 grad with an early promotion makes $180k unless that is including bonus.

[violetwindsor]

Posting anonymously because I don’t want this tracked back to me (friend told me in confidence):

Earlier this summer, my friend was promoted to manager and received a salary of $185k. 2017 grad from a Tax LLM. His MST coworker makes around the same (2017 graduate from an MST). MST got 1s and Tax LLM got 1/2 ratings throughout. So these people would be near the top of pay.

Therefore, I find it highly unlikely that a 2020 grad with an early promotion makes $180k unless that is including bonus.

Is your friend in NYC? I find the classmate’s claim to be far fetched. Many others I know in Big 4 have never received 40% raises to the base. Allegedly there was no bonus. Just the 40% raise to the base.

[CanadianWolf]

A 40% raise in base pay is quite different than the thread starting 80% and the later adjusted 64%.

A 40% raise is possible for one receiving both a promotion (20% is possible) & the 15% adjustment reportedly given to M&A Tax folks in addition to the 5% inflation adjustment reported about 6 or 7 months ago. (Of course, bonus money for bar passage or a promotion or a year-end bonus could add to the confusion.)

I am a bit confused at this point as to whether you are referring to just one individual or to two different PwC M&A Tax employees. Can you clarify this ? Also, what are the numbers that relate to the person claiming the 40% base pay raise ? (For Example: Was it $100,000 base pay raised to $140,000 base pay ?)

I ask because I do not want you to doubt your friend as there may just have been a miscommunication.

Also, OP: Do you currently work in M&A Tax ? If so, I do have some recent numbers from several major accounting firms.

[violetwindsor]

I posted to clarify because I currently have LLM friends looking into Big 4, some thinking M&A Tax. I asked a classmate of mine who is at pwc NYC on salary points etc to share.

This classmate started 2020 at $100K. Not an LLM. Just a JD. Pwc gave raises sometime early 2021. Allegedly, this classmate states that their promotion raise from their base was 40%. On top of that 40%, they are getting the 5% firmwide raise plus 11% M&A tax raise. That is where 64% is coming from. The effective raise they are apparently getting to their base. The 80% comes from their alleged new salary base from the one they started with end of 2020.

It seemed unlikely to me that the promotional raise on their base is 40%, being promoted to a senior. Not bonus, straight base. And additionally, they get the firmwide plus M&A raises. If it’s true, then that’s great and I would share this with my current LLM friends now, as that’s a massive above market rate for a senior tax associate in Big 4. However, it just seemed a bit suspect and I wanted to see if this was the consensus all around.

I am currently not in M&A tax. Was just wanting to help out my LLM friends.

Edit: I use “they/them” pronouns to be less concrete on gender. Apologies.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I don’t want this tracked back to me (friend told me in confidence):

Earlier this summer, my friend was promoted to manager and received a salary of $185k. 2017 grad from a Tax LLM. His MST coworker makes around the same (2017 graduate from an MST). MST got 1s and Tax LLM got 1/2 ratings throughout. So these people would be near the top of pay.

Therefore, I find it highly unlikely that a 2020 grad with an early promotion makes $180k unless that is including bonus.

Is your friend in NYC? I find the classmate’s claim to be far fetched. Many others I know in Big 4 have never received 40% raises to the base. Allegedly there was no bonus. Just the 40% raise to the base.

Yes NY M&A